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Elementalists EVERYWHERE
Gurpslord
Member Posts: 350
To start, I love this game and I want it to have my babies.
That being said, I've been rollin' as an elementalist during this BWE and finding them a lot of fun! Last night I began actually paying attention to the people around me, curious to see what classes were being played and I was shocked to see a huge swing in favor of the elementalist!
I saw a few necros, a few warriors and guardians scattered about. VERY rarely would I see an engineer or thief or mesmer...
But boy oh boy you couldn't throw a stone without hitting a ranger and you couldn't pass gas without an elementalist telling you who dealt it. Seems like people are flocking towards Elementalists (And rangers to a smaller degree). Any thoughts as to why this may be?
I understand that my sample size was limited and during a beta and far from scientific, these are just things I noticed.
Comments
It's quite simple really. PVP in this game is a bore fest that often consists mainly of throwing ranged aoe spells/skills at each other for what the Elementalists and also the Rangers seem to be the best class.
Guess many people also consider it too much of a hassle to actually hit stuff in the dynamic events with melee before the zergs of others players have evaporated everything. The melee to ranged balance is totally off in this game.
Ranger Norn Females are hot.
That and having a tamable pet is simply something that cannot be passed up. I also think that the pvpers think that ranged classes dominate GW2 (contrary to what i've read?) so that might also have some answers for you.
Oh, and the fact Elementalists are essentially "Wizards" to most people, and those are commonly regarded as the highest dps in any game. So, yea
.
The Theory of Conservative Conservation of Ignorant Stupidity:
Having a different opinion must mean you're a troll.
I tried ranger, but it got repetitive. Elementalist has soooo much diversity.
Will try Mesmer tomorrow
Actually Ive heard a lot of that. Regarding PVP. I have to sort of believe it at this point.
All I can hope is that it will be tweaked and adjusted before release.
OP, your post gave me a few chuckles. Loved the analogies. Thanks for the laugh.
As for PvP, the alliance I am rolling with has a healthy mix of ranged to melee, and we face rolled all server rotations so far.
They will be the first to get nerfed LOL.
The idea of these classes dominating PVP could make sense. I havne't really dabbled in the PVP areas yet so haven't seen first hand. I'm not willing to take anything at face value concerning MMOs anymore. I absolutely MUST get hands on for me to decide..
So I'll spend all day in PVP and see for myself if this seems to be the case.
I started out as melee in PVP but quickly realised i was doing it wrong. So i went ranged too and i actually survivded more and was able to get more kills. Can't blame the player. Devs just can't balance out melee and ranged in MMOS and GW2 suffer from similar problem. So be ready to see lots of ELE and Rangers in PVP as time goes by.
I think what Fadedbomb said applies as well. Pet classes are always a big favorite, and "Wizards" do have that mega DPS stereotype so yeah. I think I'll roll a melee toon and check out PVP and see how it is from that perspective.
Haha i survived a day as a melee and rolled a ranged, hope you can do better
but seriously ranged have a clear advantage right now in PVP.
I don't doubt you, however I have learned in this genre, that to make a judgement one must get your hands on it. Hype and opinion can cloud the reality of something so severely that what you think you'll get is absolutely the opposite of what you actually get. This created a lot of disappointment for me though a variety of games. I no longer want to blindly accept something one way or the other. I take information like what you've given and put it to the test, at least with issues that matter to me. This one I guess doesn't matter so much as has me curious.
You're definitely not the only person saying Melee has it rough in PvP, so guna go test that one m'self. I hope it's not the case, and if it is, I hope Anet does something about it.
Fun fact: Warriors and Rangers are mathmatically superior in dps, but their damage comes at the cost of being in melee range.
I have to add that the issue is mostly the way PVP happens. IF you should ever manage to catch a ranged class in 1 vs 1 then your chance to win actually is quite high if no enemies add in. During the 2 days of the beta weekend I only had this happen twice though while the main PVP action really was about trying to not be completely useless with a short bow or pistols in the range zergfests.
The opinions about how effective CC should be greatly differ but for me the longer durations on crowd controls combined with the actual heal classes made melee viable in DAoC.
People may call it innovative what GW2 does when it comes to healing but for me it simply is a joke. Little gimmick spells that barely have an impact at all what in my eyes just takes away another layer of tactical opportunities and makes this even more of a hack'n slay experience rather than a RPG. Target, spam the very same 1-2 damage spells/abilities over and over while wandering back and forth. Not really the PVP experience I hoped for.
Not to mention that controlling siege weapons while 43632 ranged classes dps down on you from the walls with no actual healing to make you last is quite a pointless rubbish.
Hmm from what I've seen by playing each class from a PvP standpoint, elementalists seem to be on top with warriors and necros following close behind. Thieves seem to be the tougher of the classes to PvP with due to the recent changes.
"For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,
And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed:
And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill,
And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!"
~Lord George Gordon Byron
Wait till you get to the seiges where you are nothing more than a fodder as a melee while ranged classes just yawn and burn you down from the walls. In WAR atleast there was proper healing to save your behind and you could still contribute playing as a melee and survive but in GW2 it is beyond frustrating. You could as well just afk till you get inside the keep.
This is what I've heard most people complain about actually. Jumping on a siege weapon or trying to get into the keep while getting pummeled is a suck-fest. From a reality standpoint it makes total sense. Dudes with arrows and guns behind a stone wall are going to decimate the dudes without arrows and guns below..
However realism isn't exactly why I play these games. If this is the case Anet can't be blind to it and hopefully will do something about it. Heck, even in reality when the guys without the ranged weapons below were trying to storm the gates, They'd flip over a boat or something to protect the battering ram and those operating it...
GW2 NEEDS FLIPPED OVER BOATS! I have solved the problem..give me cookies.
It's probably dependant on wich server you play. I've seen my fair share of Elementalists around, but I see quite some other classes as well. On that note, I seem to lean more towards Warrior, Thief and Guardian myself, rather than an Elementalist.
In most MMO's I think that mage classes tend to be the most popular. In GW2 PVE ranged is also easier to play. The casting/shooting on move makes it easy to kite melee mobs. So yeah I agree, in PVE ranged > melee. Dungeons with a lack of room to move might change this maybe.
The fun thing is that I also saw the same typical stand still and spam AOE crap from elementalists. Aggroing every neutral mob in the near distance and then crying for res lol. All the time I saw those flies in the swamp and the bulls in the fields attacking elementalists lol.
As for PVP. Most PVP currently consists of defending/attacking keeps. Or simple zerging (AOE fest ftl) So barely at melee range, because one side is on the keep walls, the other below. This is why any profession can play ranged. For these situations.
In structured PVP maps (havent checked this weekend tbh), melee can be devastating. There is a lot more cover to use to get into melee distance there. I've noticed that melee warrior (2hnd sword especially) for example can destroy ranged players with ease in those maps.
Anyway, I think you should try to let go of the idea of melee and ranged classes in GW2. They all can play in melee range (or ranged).
imo mesmer is the most fun. Having all those clones...attack of the clones!
MMO's are the ark of the gaming world. Let it take us in new directions.
I'd almost think mesmer would be more popular. As much as I disliked GW1, Mesmer was by far such a cool class concept for me I really admired it.
I have no idea why some people posting in this thread are saying one of the reasons lots of people play Elementalist because if the ranged/aoe aspect of the class. I've played one in all the BWEs and only used dagger/dagger, meaning, melee.
Regarding the OP, my guess is the versatility of the class is what grabs so many people towards playing it.
Or..they could crank up healing a bit to make survival easier for melee classes during seiges. I don't mind dying but i do mind sniffing the floor for the entirety of bashing doors and walls.
I almost rolled Mesmer as my first class actually, the originality of the class seemed cool. then I saw that fugly mask and changed my mind.
Apparently I'm shallow...sue me.
And for the above poster...yes, they could crank up healing..but BOATS MAN! UPSIDE DOWN BOATS! No?
I have an idea! They could implement a class that could feelably and effectively heal others!
The expectation of big magics and fiery balls of fire could still be the reason why many roll that profession in the first place. And then they discover the versatility of that profession
Or not and they keep spamming fire AOE everywhere and get killed by what were neutral mobs before they arrived
That stays funny to see 